


Feel the Rings

by HOMOGRIMOIRE



Series: Qrowtober [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Qrowtober (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26686390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HOMOGRIMOIRE/pseuds/HOMOGRIMOIRE
Summary: Qrow wears three rings, all on his right hand. Where did he get them in the first place? What made him inclined to replace them?(Meant for day three of Qrowtober, but whoops.)
Series: Qrowtober [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941229
Kudos: 7





	Feel the Rings

**Author's Note:**

> Man, I suck at tagging too. The song I listened to for this fic is Feel the Circle from Earth Maiden Arjuna. I started it, but never finished, but I like the OST. At this point, I'm just putting my songs on shuffle and looping the first one I find that that feels like it fits enough. Well, enough of that. Enjoy, if you will.

Qrow wears three rings; one on his index finger, and two on his right ring finger, both on his right hand. 

-

The one on his index finger was a gift, sort of, from Tai during their Beacon days. Summer arranged for a small party with the team, despite his protests to do nothing at all. At least less could go wrong with that arrangement. Her original plan was to sneak into a strip club. While a _very_ fun idea, too much could go wrong, especially with his semblance. Tack on the fact that her plan included her as the getaway driver, and that meant the scheme was inducing fear in all. The woman could technically drive, she had her license, but no one wanted to feel so close to death.

First, they all had pizza and Raven told them embarrassing stories of their youth. She made sure to tell the story of when he got dumped by his first boyfriend. She exaggerated how he cried and moped about. Then she told them how she got with him and dumped him. She did not exaggerate how he begged to get back with her. She and her stone-cold heart nonchalantly dismissed him every time. Summer said she found it adorable that she got revenge for her brother, and Raven became flustered, saying that she misinterpreted the story. She insisted that the point was that she was cooler than her brother, but she wasn’t fooling anyone.

And next came the cake. It was made by Tai, of course. Neither Branwen had any baking skills. They could cook, but they couldn’t cook anything “fancy,” as they once described it. They could have bought one, but Summer wasn’t having that. Raven called all his cooking “hoe-made” instead of home-made because he was her hoe. The man had been around, and she flaunted the fact that _she_ was the one to tame him. Seeing Tai’s reaction to having his cooking be called hoe-made always made Qrow laugh, so he made sure to thank Tai for the hoe-made cake. 

After blowing out the candles and making a wish, Raven, being his sister, slammed his face into the cake and cackled ceaselessly as he revealed his frosting covered face while Tai lamented the destruction of his hard work. And then, to top it off, Summer started screaming there was a fire, because apparently, Qrow’s shirt was on fire. So then Qrow was frantically trying to get his shirt off while his face was still covered in icing. Meanwhile, Summer was running around screaming as she looked for a fire extinguisher, Tai was slapping him with a nearby blanket to try to put it out, and Raven was on the floor dying of laughter. It wasn’t the first time it happened, so she knew he would be fine.

Soon enough, they got the fire out, and Qrow was left standing there shirtless with face covered in cake. Her only regret was not being able to take a picture. After Qrow had cleaned his face and got a clean shirt, they salvaged the hoe-made cake and went to giving the presents. Tai felt bad for Qrow, so he gave him some of his cake when Qrow finished his. Raven gifted him an IOU. Single children Summer and Tai though it was a terrible gift, but they had no idea the power she had given him. Sinisterly, he thanked her for the gift. In the coming days, she would make attempts to steal the IOU, with no success.

Next, was Summer’s gift. She always paired her gifts with a hand written letter expressing how much she loved the recipient, and she always made them read it aloud. She talked about how much she was happy Qrow was with them, and how if he wanted, he would make a great wingwoman. She knew he was eyeing the girl in their history class. It was a bit embarrassing, but sweet nonetheless. He couldn’t be mad at her. Only Raven could manage that.

Then came Tai’s gift, and what a predicament it caused. Tai handed him a small, unassuming, wrapped box. And Qrow tore away the wrapping paper and opened the box to reveal a metal ring with a band of black opal.

“What? Gods Qrow, I am so sorry! I should have been that sick necklace we saw in the catalogue!” he explained as he became embarrassed for giving the gift without even looking at it first. “I can return it so I can get you you’re actual gift, or unless you want to.”

“No.” Qrow said as he put it on, “I think I’ll keep it. What do you think Raven? Jealous?” He asked. He held it out as if it were an engagement ring.

“Why would I be jealous? Its just a ring.” she responded.

“I mean, he gave me a ring before you. I think that makes him my man now.” Qrow teased as he went to possessively hug Tai. 

“What?” a very confused Tai asked.

“And he gave me some his cake.” Qrow added as he grabbed Tai’s ass. It certainly wasn’t the first time. The gym showers were a wild place. However, doing so this time caused Tai to moan as he jumped up. He quickly covered his mouth as Qrow looked at him with concern, and backed away. 

“So? I can have some of his cake anytime.” Raven says smoothly.

“Dear gods shut up and never mention that again.” he told her as he pretended to throw up.

“That'll be one IOU” she tells him as she holds out her hand to take the IOU.

“Hell no!” he responds as he clutches her gift.

“Give me the the IOU, Qrow.”

“No.”

“Give me the IOU Qrow!” she shouts as she lunges at him with the intensity they often see when they are doing team training.

“You’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!” Qrow saws as they continue rough-housing.

“That can be arranged, _little brother_!”

Just then, Tai, while happy he’s no longer the center of attention, notices than Summer has been quiet. Too quiet. It is not a good sign. It never is. He looks at her to see that she has been recording the whole time.

“Summer, did you─” She slowly turns to look at him before she bolts off with the camera. “You get back here and delete that!” he pleads. 

“It’s a memory! You don’t erase memories like this!” she justifies as she is chased by Tai while Qrow and Raven are still going at it. 

It is a chaotic day, one that ends with them in Ozpin’s office for the disruption of peace. But, Qrow looks at that ring, and remembers a better time. It is a memory that won’t be erased from his mind, but a memory is all than it is, and all it ever will be.

-

The two on his ring finger are made of white opal. When Raven discovered her semblance, she was given her necklaces. The many small circles that linked together to form a larger circle represented her portals that linked her to those she valued. When it was finally realized that all the recent bad luck was Qrow’s semblance, he was soon gifted the opal rings. The stone was well known for the misfortune it would give most people under most circumstances, so it was a fitting gift to match his semblance. 

He _hated_ them. So often, the young Qrow would take them off and toss them into the wilderness. They should have been so easy to lose, and yet, they would always make their way back to him. Most times, it was a cruel Raven who would retrieve them and return them to him in front of their parents. They would berate him for losing such an honored gift from the tribe leader, and praise Raven for her diligence in respecting their tribe’s customs, unlike her brother. Worse, someone would tell his parents where he had seen the rings, and they would make him walk back to retrieve them. That was the only option since no one would dare pick them up.

Eventually, he stopped trying to get rid of them, and just gave in and accepted them. It was easier to accept them by that point, as they had proven useful in fights. A fist with rings on hurt more than a fist without rings. Those things had helped him win many fights. He liked to think that the opals transferred some bad luck from him to his opponent upon contact. By the time he arrived at Beacon, he had grown well attached to them. They contrasted with the dark tones he would typically wear too. Raven said that the combat skirt went really well with them. She was right, but he should have known better than to trust her.

-

When he arrives at Atlas, he is given a new outfit. It’s whatever. He’s not going to complain about a _free_ , new set of clothes. But, he knows he’ll miss his old outfit. Much like the rings, they’ve become a part of his identity. However, he’s a new man now. He has to be. It takes him an hour to switch outfits. He just didn’t have anything else to do at the moment but lament the past. So much had happened in that outfit. 

Eventually, he settles on saving the outfit. Despite everything, it has a lot of sentimental value, more than he realized. He looks in the mirror, and sees a new him. Then he notices the rings, a part of his old outfit, a part of the old him. He takes them off and places them in his palm to stare at them. So many memories, so many emotions. But, he wants to move forward for himself too. “Sorry.” he says as he opens the drawer and places the rings on top of his old outfit.

He feels off without his rings. He rubs where they once were just to feel something again right there. So as soon as he can, he requests a new set of rings. Being in Atlas, he has to reason that they’ll be for combative purposes. They won’t _waste_ resources if they don’t have to after all. So, they take his ring size and tell him to wait a few days. It’s an odd few days. The feeling of nakedness is difficult to shake. Just as expected, the rings arrive in a few days. For once, he is grateful for Atlesian punctuality. The rings are a cold and heavy black metal. In a fight, they’ll get the job done very well. That is undeniable. 

  
There is nothing special about the rings. Their sole purpose is to aid their wearer in a fight, not to be a vessel of memories and emotions, the agents that bind one to the painful past. However, they belong to Qrow Branwen, a _new_ Qrow Branwen. These rings will be a vessel of _new_ memories and _new_ emotions, ones that will be agents that bind to a future that will become a past to be proud of. At least, that is what he hopes. Qrow hopes he’s doing the whole hoping thing right. It’s been a long time since he last hoped for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Opals are regarded as a rather unlucky gem for a number of reasons. One is because of their weak structure that makes them prone to cracking and breaking. It is bad luck to give them as a gift, hence why I have the opal rings as a gift. They are said to amplify the wearer's characteristic, negative or positive. Fitting enough. Misfortune increases an affected person's chance of bad luck, which could be either good or bad depending on who it is. However, they also are said to enhance one's feelings of self worth. Yeah. not fitting. But, it looked like he was getting some of that though. Opal's supposed health benefits are rather interesting. They help purify blood, help fight infection, and just generally strengthen one's immune system. Wonder when that would have been useful. The real kicker is that it helps one fight addiction. Man, his bad luck was so bad that it canceled out some of the good effects of the bad luck gem. Oh, and I got all this info on a site called thewifechoice, so take this info as a grain of salt if you will. Just search up "opal meanings" on the site, and you'll find the article I referenced. Oh, and interestingly, opal is said to help blonds make their hair more vibrant, and that those born in October are immune to its negative effects. So good for Yang and Ruby. The bad luck charm is less a hinderance to them. Hmm. Opal is a good stone for Qrow. Anyways, I thank you once again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
